The Black Knight
by Zombies Rn't Us
Summary: "Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody." -Mark Twain
1. Chapter 1 - Death Of A Hero

" **Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which**

 **he never shows to anybody."**

 _ **-Mark Twain**_

* * *

 _ **Beta:VariousStories**_

* * *

 _Cinder stands triumphantly before Pyrrha in the remains of Ozpin's office, bowstring knocked back, a wide smirk on her face as all of her hard work was finally going to come to fruition. Finally, she would receive the power she so rightfully deserved. But as she's about to release the killing arrow, a sound pierced the almost dead silence and caused her to loosen the string with a puzzled expression morphing her once self-assured countenance. She shook her head, her smug smile returning once more as she drew back the bow anew._

 _The noise steadily increased in volume and Cinder started to grow irritated at the disturbance. She twisted around in an attempt to identify and eliminate the source of her ire. All she saw was a flash of white, gold, and silver before all hell broke loose as Jaune Arc came riding in on a rocket-locker, the same one Pyrrha locked him in earlier, like it was a surfboard. He proceeded to then leap off the locker, causing it to launch at the Dragon Grimm's face like a projectile, disorientating the massive Grimm, and came crashing through whatever's left of the already demolished plate glass window with his shield raised._

 _He attempted to smooth out his landing strategy with a combat roll, "nearly"-succeeding. In Jaune's attempt to control his "badass hero entrance," he accidentally full-body slammed into Pyrrha, making him lose what little control he had and causing them both to half tumble, half skid to the edge of the building. Cinder just sat there, flat on her ass after having narrowly dodged the chaos that was the Arc boy's landing strategy, with her mouth agape in utter befuddlement at what just occurred. After realizing her chance for ultimate power was slipping away from her, she composed herself quickly, draws back the bow a third time in a last-ditch effort to kill the "Invincible" Girl._

 _Pyrrha rolls over the edge, too drained from her fight with Cinder to save herself. Luckily Jaune was there, flashing her a slightly pained version of his otherwise goofy signature smile as he used one arm to keep himself steady while having sacrificed Crocea Mors over the edge in order to catch her with the other. She responded with a weak, but visible, grin of her own._

 _It then changed into a look of horror as an arrow pierced Jaune's skull from behind, the tip protruding from his right eye-socket and embedded in his beautiful ocean-blue eye. A frown appeared on his face as a small rivulet of blood poured out of the now vacant eye socket and down the arrow's shaft before he slumped forward, unmoving, his once iron-like grip on Pyrrha's arm now slackening, causing her to fall._

 _The wind whipped her fiery-red locks everywhere and its coldness bit at her bare skin, but she noticed none of this as she watched the one boy she truly loved die in the ever-expanding distance. She doesn't feel the tiny arms of Ruby catching her mid-air, she didn't hear the little reaper asking her 'What's wrong' and 'What happened,' nor did she see the worry in those silver eyes. All she felt was exhaustion and a deep emotional pain, all she heard was some form of static and the pitter-patter of little blood droplets hitting the floor, and all she saw was the life fading out of the once gorgeous pair of ocean-blue eyes._

 **|…|**

* * *

She idly stared at the ruins in front of her, her hand gently caressing over the familiar blade's edge that was not her own, her true feelings of pain and sorrow were hidden behind a stoic mask of indifference to the world around her.

The building before her was half destroyed. Three Faunus children, two boys and a girl, along with their father had been killed. One of the boys had fallen from the demolished building, his body lay dead upon the street. The surviving members of the family were injured, but were too depressed to even think about licking their wounds.

An explosive device laying on the roof appears to be what took it down. The walls were littered with bullet holes and scorch marks. There was no reason for the White Fang to attack this building. They just shot at everything. They're crazy. They have no particular targets anymore.

Ren walked over to her, with a silent Nora in tow. This is the quietest anyone has ever seen her. No ditsy remark about sloths, no offshoot comment on pancakes, no ridiculous stories with exaggeration rivaling that of Professor Port's about her recurring dreams, nothing. Just… silence.

Ren goes to place a hand on her shoulder, seeing the glazed over look in her eye he decides to give her a small shake, breaking her from her dreamlike trance. For a split second, he saw her inner turmoil in those once cheerful emerald eyes, before her mask of apathy came crashing back down over it. She looked in his direction but said nothing. Ren pitied her, knowing what she was going through. It's not easy to lose someone who's like family.

"Come on Pyrrha, you need to rest, you've been working yourself to the bone." He said in a soft tone, gently pulling her away from the devastation in the direction of their new temporary 'home.'

She spoke softly, "No."

"Wha…"

Before he could finish he was interrupted by Pyrrha as she shouted, "NO!"

"Pyrrha, calm down."

"NO! I will not calm down, I will not stop, and I will not rest! There is far too much work to be done."

"Pyrrha listen to yourself! You've been working nonstop and you haven't gone to sleep in days!" He raised his voice, "Would Jaune have wan…ted…," only to lower it after realizing what he said.

"…"

"Pyrrha Wait!"

She ran off in the opposite direction, not bothering to hide her anguish any longer.

Nora smacked Ren in the back of his head. Hard.

"Idiot." She muttered angrily.

She proceeds to walk after her friend, in hopes of soothing her.

"Uh…" he started, only to sigh and drop his face into his hands.

"Everything's going to shit." He mumbled through his palms, his voice muffled.

"Watch your language Mr. Lie, as a Huntsman you have an appearance to uphold," A new voice uttered as they entered the fray, "but, you're right. Things could definitely be better."

"Professor Goodwitch?! What're you doing here?"

"I am merely here to ascertain the details on the situation of Patch. Care to fill me in?"

"U-um, yes Profess-or.

As the White Fang forces moved in to occupy areas of the island, they frequently loot shops and apartments, and deliberately burned down houses of suspected non-Fang members. Ruby told us that after she left the island, her father called to tell her that the Fang had destroyed many of the housing in their street and that they had attempted to torch the building opposite their home on said street.

I have a list of almost 30 houses that have been burned down. At least some of them belonged to Faunus. On certain streets, all the stores and shops have been looted. They even took the safes from some of the stores."

He pulls out of his pocket and hands to the Instructor a piece of paper.

"And the losses?"

"I would say that about half of them were clearly civilians. There were women, children and elderly among them. Most of the civilians were wounded or killed because of the fighting.

Many of the wounded and killed were brought to a hospital in the old city, which was quickly overwhelmed by the number of deaths. At least 20 killed people were brought to the hospital the first day. There were more the second day… at least 30."

He gulped at the memory, "The third day was terrifying. I don't think anybody was keeping track at that point. Wounded people kept arriving all the time. Medical personnel were trying to revive and attend to the wounded on the floors in the corridors because there was no space. Doctors were doing surgery without the proper equipment. They were doing their best, but by then they were too exhausted.

The hospital is in total chaos. They couldn't cope with the number of killed and injured. The dead were buried right away in a nearby park."

"Dear Oum." Glynda breathed.

"But that's not even the half of it. Just this morning they had ran out of space in the park, and with the park and school behind it still being on fire from an attempted attack on the hospital earlier in the week, they've had to bury the bodies wherever they could. And the ever-increasing number of Grimm have only been adding onto the chaos and destruction.

We don't have enough able-bodied hunters and soldiers to fight them back, so we've had to start recruiting and arming capable civilians just to stand a chance."

"Well then, while this pains me to say this but I'll have to pull team (J)NPR out of the recovery effort."

"WHAT?!" Ren says, raising his voice in disbelief, "Professor, I can assure you that we are more than capable of handling this task, for what reason could you…"

She raises her hand to silence him.

"Ruby Rose of team RWBY has requested, in the absence of her team, that the remaining members of team JNPR accompany her on a mission to Mistral in order to follow a recent lead on Cinder Fall."

"Oh."

Ren's face turns into one of pent-up fury and a determination for vengeance could be seen in his eyes. He asks darkly,

"When do we start?"

 **|…|**

* * *

"Why not Team RRNN (Rune)?"

"I really think that we should pick a different name. It sounds a bit dark." Nora exclaimed as she and Ren were walking through the dense forest of Anima. Her new bomber jacket flowed with the breeze and yet snuggled tightly to her form.

"Honestly Nora I don't know what to decide. RRNN isn't even a color." Ren sighed, being a little tired of this discussion. His sleeveless tailcoat and let down hair swayed as well.

"That's easy! How about PNRR (Pioneer)?" the ninja's partner said with a wide smile while he just looked confused.

"That's still not a color Nora. And isn't Ruby the leader of our group?" he asked exasperatedly while scratching his long, flowing hair.

"Guys," a familiar voice said as she was looking off in the clearing ahead, "Now is not the time."

Her attire had stayed its familiar bronze and red scheme, but with the add-on of a familiar black hoodie. While she had no weapon on her, the rest of Pyrrha's appearance, for the most part, stayed the same.

She then faced forward and her eyes narrowed. The light thunder of heavy footfalls signaled their approach.

"It's here," she muttered under her breath.

Out in the distance, they could see that Ruby, who was dawning a new combat skirt and attire that resembled Penny's outfit, crashed through the trees. She was firing shot after shot at what now could be seen as a massive colossus that was made of stone. It barreled toward her but missed as Ruby used her semblance to reunite with the rest of her team.

"Well, at least we found it," Ruby said with a sheepish smile. The others nodded at this. "Nora, distract it from up top. Ren, do the same but in the opposite direction."

The two nodded and headed their respective ways. She then looked back to the champion. "Pyrrha, stay here and…"

"I can keep it occupied through my semblance. It's faint, but I think I can detect feeble traces of metal within its stony structure." Pyrrha interrupted with a flat tone and Ruby internally sighed as she began to circle around the Grimm as well.

The three of them circled the Grimm while spewing dust rounds at it. Nora did the most damage at the time due to the direct hits on the Grimm's facial area. Ren took this opportunity as he leaped onto one of the massive arms and ran up while firing rapidly. However, this only irritated the Grimm. The colossus proceeded to shake the ninja off him and was about to slam his stone fist on top of him.

To the Grimm's mild confusion though, its arm seemed to be suspended and not able to move. It looked down to see that Pyrrha was straining to use her polarity to hold it still through the metal-ore hidden deep within the rock. With a strained yell, she focused all her aura and semblance on its arm and dislodged it causing it to crash into the forest.

This didn't stop it though, due to it now using a tree as a replacement. Pyrrha cursed at this and dove out of the way when it made swiping motions towards her. As it was about to strike once more, one of Ren's StormFlowers whistled through the air and damaged its mask. The mighty colossus recoiled from the attack and went on the defensive. Ruby noticed this with widening eyes.

"I know what we need to do," Ruby said, her eyes now the size of dinner plates, "We need to break apart its defenses, piece by piece, and then take out the mask." The three nodded at this and once more took their positions while Nora began charging the new modification on her weapon. Pyrrha labored to use what little polarity and aura she had left to once more to hold the colossus in place. Ren began hacking away viciously at the arm that consisted of wood.

What the beast didn't notice though, was Ruby charging at it with full force.

She passed Nora, entangling her in her semblance, and with the added speed, Nora smashed the Grimm's body to pieces leaving the Geist that inhabited said body unprotected. The Grimm began to flee and Ruby took this opportunity to fire a round straight at the Grimm's head. The squeal it made was the only sound the forest consisted of at that moment.

Pyrrha collapsed to the ground, exhausted from overexerting herself, but with a smile on her face at another victory for her team in the name of Jaune. As her final moments of consciousness passed away, only one thought was on her mind. 'On my life, Jaune, you will be avenged…'

Everything faded to black.

'…Of this, I swear.'

 **|…|**

* * *

"Thank you. That Grimm has been terrorizing the surrounding area for quite a while now. We were lucky that you all came to our aid." The village elder told the multicolored team that was standing before him. Nora gave him a mock salute while Ren was standing next to her with a calm demeanor and a gentle smile towards the elder while a drained Pyrrha rested upon his shoulder.

She had woken up some way along the walk back.

"It was no problem for us," Ruby said with enthusiasm while Pyrrha simply nodded along with the leader as they looked back at the elder.

"I just wish we could have paid you all better." Ren was about to interject but was cut off by Pyrrha.

She said with a polite smile. "It was fine. Our previous agreement will suffice." The elder looked a little concerned but in the end shrugged it off and nodded back. The champion along with her team bowed and then headed toward the blacksmith.

"You sure you're okay Pyrrha? That fight was pretty tough, even with our weapons." Ruby asked as they were waiting for the blacksmith to be done. "It was touch and go there for a while and you were completely unarmed." Pyrrha gave Ruby a small, albeit grateful, smile and shrugged.

"It was no problem. Besides, it was my semblance that gave us the edge we needed to win." Pyrrha quickly responded. Ruby sent a concerning look towards Nora and Ren and they seemed to catch the hints as well. Before anyone could say anything more, there was a loud thud at the front desk of the shop.

"There you go ma'am. It may be heavier than yer used to, but you'll thank me next time ya go up against a set of claws," the Faunus said in a gruff voice as he slammed the new shining breastplate onto the counter.

"This, this is absolutely wonderful, I truly don't know what to say." Pyrrha uttered in awe.

He chuckled in response. "Don't gotta to say anything, just put it on," he replied as he headed to the back, "I'll go get the rest."

"Sooooo," Nora said, drawing out the 'o', "What're you waiting for?"

"O-oh, right," Pyrrha answered with a hint of embarrassment and restrained anger as she walked forward, taking off her own breastplate and placing it next to the new one, "Guess I was going to have to get this replaced eventually."

"A sign of progress," Ren stated carefully, knowing their relationship with Pyrrha was on thin ice.

"Right, progress," she said tiredly as she turned around.

Ruby gasped then attempted to hold back her giggling with her tiny hands. Ren gave a small smile in recognition while Nora gave a wide grin.

"What, what is it?" Pyrrha asked in genuine confusion.

"What is that?!" Ruby exclaimed, pointing at the logo on the front of Pyrrha's sweater.

"What, the hoodie? This was Jaune's, he's always had this." Pyrrha said defensively, trying to hide the hurt his name caused her.

Everyone went silent at the mention of his name, even Ruby's giggling managed to die down to nothing at the bleak memory.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

The Blacksmith decided then was a good time to walk in, breaking the somber atmosphere. "Can't have a huntress without her weapon," he said, _oblivious_ to the tension in the air while stabbing the sheathed blade that was a cross between Milo and Crocea Mors. "I made all the modifications ya' asked for." The sheath then transformed into a rounded shield. "That was some fine metal you brought me, how'd you convince the Arcs to give it to ya'?"

"Pardon?" Pyrrha asked confused.

"The metal. It's of a specially refined quality famously used by the Arc family, along with their family crest being on the shield."

"Oh, it was a… gift," Pyrrha slowly answered with a sad smile on her face, "From a friend."

"Well that musta been some friend 'cause the Arc family's known to be a reclusive bunch," the Blacksmith replied.

"Yes," Ren responded, "A good friend he was."

Pyrrha clenched her fists while the Faunus raised his eyebrow at the 'was' but chose to ignore it as he helped Pyrrha with the new armor.

 **|…|**

* * *

"You failed. And what's worse is you failed to a nobody," Watts says, the smugness in his voice showed he's clearly enjoying the situation, "And because of your failure, we have to clean up your mess."

Cinder breathed a sigh of irritation, displaying her thoughts on his opinion. "You obviously failed to execute this task the first time, and you're childish actions display your lack of preparation plainly to us all." Cinder is about to retort when the massive wooden doors leading to the dining hall are abruptly opened.

Out from the darkness stepped a titan of a man. The ground trembled lightly as the towering giant slowly lumbered into the room with all the speed of a Goliath, its broad frame adorned in something akin to a Knight's armor, made from black stone as dark as the midnight sky. Had it not been moving, it could easily be mistaken for a statue. And following closely behind was the Queen of Darkness herself, Salem.

"Watts is right dear Cinder," Watts's smug smile noticeably increased but Salem raised a hand to quiet him, "But… it wasn't all for naught. May I personally introduce you to our newest… ally."

The stone giant grunted in a form of greeting. "He was unwilling to share in our visions at first," Emerald visibly flinched at those words, "but under my… _care_ … his views have changed." Everyone shuddered at the thought of what he must have gone through. Even Tyrian found himself feeling a smidgeon of pity for the poor man, but he quickly squashed these feelings, for they represented weakness, and Tyrian was anything but.

"How is his combat ability? If I remember correctly he was, to put it politely, atrocious when it came to fighting." Hazel inquired. "I understand your concerns, and can personally confirm that his swordsmanship, while not perfect, has improved immensely since being taken under my wing." Salem calmly responded.

"Pfft. I'll believe that bullshit when I see it," Mercury muttered under his breath. A grinding of stone against stone was heard followed by a short gasp as the giant's large sword was pressed against his exposed neck with speeds unthinkable for its mountainous figure. Salem chuckled at the boy's misfortune. "Do you lack faith in my word young one?"

"N-n-no ma'am." He replied shakily.

"Good." Salem nods at the giant and it slid its sword back into its sheath, but its hand never left the hilt of the mighty blade. "Now, if there are no more interruptions, we may continue with the meeting." Salem turned to Watts and regarded him with an even eye, before asking a question.

"Doctor Watts, is everything going as planned with the SDC?" "Yes, madam. The Schnee boy is now destined to become the heir to the company and I currently have him under my thumb." She nodded her approval.

"Good, good. Tyrian, you will continue your hunt for the Spring Maiden." "Gladly, m'lady!" Tyrian said excitedly, cackling and tapping his fingers together erratically.

She shifts her gaze to the second largest entity in the room. "Hazel… I'm sending you to the leader of the White Fang. Adam Taurus has arranged the meeting. The boy continues to prove loyal. Ensure that Sienna Khan feels the same." "As you wish."

Salem doesn't bother looking at the _maiden_. "Cinder, you are to meet with the informant in Mistral, I trust that you will not fail this task."

" **WHAT?!** " Cinder exclaimed and immediately realized her mistake as the monster shifted its glare to her, subconsciously noticing that it intensified more than even this situation called for, "I'm sorry my Queen, I mean no disrespect, but what about the Fall Maiden? I don't have her full power…"

"And whose fault may that be? Hmm." Salem countered. "B-but, I can handle this. I'll prove it to you. I'll hunt their little posse down and kill them myself!"

"No. You have already ' _proven_ ' that you're incapable of this task. But you're right, they do need to be taken care of. Tyrian change of plans. Spring can wait. I think this will be a great opportunity to test our newest _recruit's_ loyalty to our cause, and what better judge of ' _character_ ' is there than you? Take him, and if he not only succeeds in killing his old allies but also bringing to us the new ' _maiden_ ,' his devotion and skill will be established, and you both shall gain more power in the world to come."

Unbeknownst to everyone else in the room, the giant felt a strange sense of sorrow in his chest for a reason it didn't understand, its grip on the large sword tightening dangerously.

 **[END]**

* * *

 **A/N: This took a long ass time to make. Much longer than it should've. But it's finally out, and I can rest. Hopefully, Chapter 2 won't be as frustrating, but I'll guess we'll have to wait and see. But, just don't expect it anytime soon. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. That's all for now.**

 **C'ya.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Decay of a Monster

" **Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which**

 **he never shows to anybody."**

 _ **-Mark Twain**_

* * *

 _ **Beta: VariousStories**_

* * *

The screams of fear were soon silenced by his blade simultaneously breaking the Aura and puncturing the body of his newest victim, ending their pitiful existence. He freed his weapon of the corpse with a simple slash of his arm, the body launching off and flattening against the stone wall of a nearby cliff-face, while its blood slid off the sword's smooth obsidian surface like water.

"Isn't this thrilling?!" Tyrian excitedly asked, soon followed by maniacal laughter as he torn his own prey apart with his dual wrist blades. His partner merely grunted noncommittally as he proceeded to rip a man in half, said man crying out in agony.

Tyrian faux sighed in disappointment, his shoulders slumping while his tail plunged its stinger into the chest of another man attempting to flee.

"You're no fun," he stated, then asked with what sounded like genuine curiosity, "How can you live your life feeling nothing when killing your fellow man?"

If the helmet wasn't obscuring his face, Tyrian would've seen the giant roll its singular eye at the irony of his statement. The titan of a man knew fully well that it was dead, or at least that he should've been. It doesn't remember the exact details, only that the cause of his untimely demise and subsequent suffering at the hands of the Queen was none other than the false maiden herself.

But he forewent his killer instincts begging to take her life as she was still useful to the Queen. This didn't stop him from displaying his feeling of loathing for the woman whenever their beings crossed paths.

He shook his mind to clear his thoughts for they were inappropriate and unrelated to the task at hand; gather information on their target's location. As he looked around he realized that he and Tyrian had killed everyone in the vicinity, failing this step of their task.

Tyrian cackled madly from behind, reveling in the destruction they caused. The giant sighed in frustration as he sheathed his mighty blade and moved on in the direction of the next village over. His memory wasn't the best due to unknown reasons, but he believed it went by the name…

 _Shion._

 **|…|**

* * *

 _Floating_

 _She was floating, unsure of which way was up or down_

 _She was beside a tower._

 _No. Not a tower. A…_

 _A beacon._

 _Beacon Tower._

 _The name came to her slowly from the fog that enshrouded her mind, desperately clawing for purchase._

 _A rumbling catches her attention and causes her to turn her head in the noise's direction._

 _From the endless pit of darkness emerges a bone white skull, followed by a pair of glowing crimson eyes._

 _The beast rears its fearsome head, and opens its mouth. Its jaw unhinged at an unnatural angle._

 _Past the teeth taller than a human, lay a bloodied and limbless body._

 _She freezes in horror as she sees a familiar mop of blond hair resting upon the corpse's head._

 _Suddenly, the head lifts, revealing two empty pits where eyes bluer than the ocean once resided._

 _She gasped as the carcass opens its mouth and utters the three words that she was always thinking yet never wanted to hear._

 _ **You killed me…**_

 _She fell into the empty abyss._

 **|…|**

* * *

Pyrrha jolts awake, cold sweat cascading down her body like a thunderstorm, taking in large gulps of air in an attempt to fill her aching lungs.

She hastily scans her surroundings, hands instinctively grabbing her weapons as she's searching for… something, but she's unsure of what.

Her breathing slows to normal as she realizes it was just a dream, but she soon turns to tears as she is bombarded with all her pent-up emotions of pain, anger, self-loathing, grief, and an indescribable emptiness within her very soul.

She silently cries until the first rays of morning light shine through the forest canopy.

 **|…|**

* * *

The group marched along the forest trail in silence, no one having said a word about the red tracks running down Pyrrha's face nor the heavy bags hanging beneath her eyes.

The others wished to inquire if she was okay, but they had learned not to broach any subject that was, in even the slightest manner, related to _him_ , so they ignored her sorrow against their better judgment.

Nora breaks the heavy silence with a light cough to grab their impromptu leader's attention.

"Ruby. May I have a word with you?" she asked in a surprisingly serious tone.

"Uh… Sure, Nora. What's up?"

Subtly glancing in the champion's direction, she replied, "In private."

"Huh… Oh… ohhhhh. Ok"

The two separated from the group. Nora and Ren giving each other a knowing look as they cross paths.

Once out of earshot Nora speaks.

"We both know this situation with Pyrrha isn't getting any better."

"Yeah."

"…"

"…"

"I think you should talk with her."

"Wh-what?! Why me?"

"Because you're the one she's the least hostile with, and the only one she talks to."

"Ummm…"

"Please, Ruby. Me and Renny have tried but can never get a word out of her, we're worried for her. Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?"

Before Ruby had a chance to respond a faint cry for help caused both of their necks to snap in the voice's direction.

Ren and Pyrrha had a head start but with Ruby's semblance and Nora's seemingly boundless energy, the two were able to catch up.

They came across a sight that shocked them.

A village's worth of people, bloodied and beaten, with a huntsman, in worse condition than the others, at their head.

Upon seeing them, the Huntsman falls.

 **|…|**

* * *

Relief filled the broken man's eyes as his group spotted the team headed their way. Knowing the villagers would be safer in their care than in his, he allowed his weary body to collapse, the exhaustion quickly taking hold of his eyelids and forcing them closed.

A soft smile graced his pale face, the knowledge that he did his job and protected the people to the best of his ability finally permitting him to rest with his mind at ease.

 **|…|**

* * *

Ruby and her team, their faces in barely veiled dismay, stand around the fallen Huntsman, his body laid against the trunk of an old tree and his facial expression one of peace.

A young child from the crowd stepped forward and proceeded to tug upon Nora's skirt.

"I…is he gonna be alright?" he asked innocently, blissfully unaware of the truth of the Huntsman's awful fate, and his eyes filled with hope.

Nora looks to Ren, who imperceptibly shakes his head no, then looks back down to the small boy.

She gets down on one knee and places a hand on the boy's shoulder, a soft but faux smile crossing her face as she prepared herself to lie straight to the child's face…

"No." only to be interrupted by Pyrrha, "He's dead-"

"TIRED!" Ruby shouts, attempting to salvage the situation, whilst giving Pyrrha a not-so-subtle glare.

"He's dead tired? Really, Ruby, that's the best you could come up with."

Sensing an argument on the rise, Ren and Nora broke away, one to gather some information, the other shooing the people out of earshot.

 **|…|**

* * *

Ren pulled two of the elders for questioning.

"So… what exactly happened? Why is such a large grouping of civilians roaming the forest while under the protection of only a single Huntsman? Even nomadic populations have better self-custody."

"You're right, nomads we are not. We are villagers hailing from our hometown of Shion." One of the elders answered.

Another continued, "The reason for our sudden migration was an attack made upon our village by neighboring raiders. We would have been slaughtered had it not been for the interference of a greater evil."

"What? Greater evil?"

"You haven't heard the rumors? A monster clad in the stone farcical of a Knight's armor, companioned by a psychopathic Faunus of scorpion origin, have been laying waste to any and all within their path."

"Why?" inquired Ren.

"Gossip suggests they are searching for something, judging from the crazed ramblings of the Faunus, a weapon or an item of power perhaps. But if you ask me, I don't think it's some _thing_ … I think it's some _one_."

 **|…|**

* * *

Tata-tap… Tata-tap… Tata-tap…

The rapid staccato of Watts' drumming fingers on the sill set a beat for the disturbing spawning process for the Grimm outside.

Tata-tap… Tata-tap… Tata-tap…

Tata-tap… Tata-tap… Ta-creeeeaaak…

The loud creaking of the door interrupted his tapping.

"Watts," an alluring yet malicious voice started to inquire, "Are you well?"

"Ah… My Queen… I am quite alright, merely just… lost in thought."

"What is troubling you?"

"Heh, many things ma'am, the life of a businessman is a stressful one."

Salem raised a brow, her patience clearly waning.

Arthur sweat drops as he hurries to continue, "B-but, one thing, in particular, has unusually taken the forefront of my mind."

"Oh, and what might that be?"

"I believe smart enough not to cross us. Nor do I question your abilities in… _negotiation_ … I worry our new _addition_ isn't as loyal as we may believe."

She waves her hand in a "continue" motion.

"We all have noticed the _tension_ between that… _thing…_ and our _maiden_. This is no doubt due to their history. This may be cause for alarm, since, while I'm loathe to admit it, we do need her if our plans are to continue."

"You needn't worry, at his current strength, our associate doesn't stand a chance, even against a partial maiden."

"I still hold my hesitations, but I will trust in your judgment, my Queen." He said reverently.

She smirks slightly, "Good. Now, come with me, I require you for _something_."

 **|…|**

* * *

Qrow sorrowfully watched on from inside the bar as Ruby and her friends checked themselves into a hostel across the road. _'Strange… Where's the Nikos g-'_

A barmaid strolled up and placed a drink before the man, interrupting his thoughts.

"Oh, I didn't-"

"From the woman upstairs. Red eyes, said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf."

They both glance to the second floor.

"Thanks."

With a smirk and a wink, the barmaid then said, "But, I went ahead and gave you top. Lucky you!"

Qrow's eyes followed her as she sauntered away, a mischievous grin plastered on his face. At least, until her back was fully turned, where it transformed into a thin line facing the direction of the inn while he mutters a sarcastic "Yeah" under his breath.

He got up and made his way towards the second floor. Reaching the top, he's met with the sight of his sister.

"Hello, brother."

"Raven."

He moved in the direction of her table, waiting with his chosen seat pulled out until Raven moved her mask to the side with a roll of her eyes.

"So, what do you want?"

"A girl can't just catch up with her family?"

"She can, but you're not. So how bout we get on with it?" He drank from his glass, then gestured to the said glass as he continued, "Unless you plan on keeping these coming."

After a pause, Raven sighed then asked, "Does she have it?"

Qrow remained silent, idly tracing the outline of the drink. He then asked, "Did you know Yang lost her arm?"

"That's not-"

"Rhetorical question. I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you bring up family then carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist."

"I saved her."

"Once. Because that was your rule, right? Real _"Mom of the Year"_ material, sis."

He reached towards the glass to take another swill of his drink, only to have his arm grabbed forcefully by Raven.

"I told you Beacon would fall, and it did. I told you Ozpin would fail, and he has. Now you tell me.

Does…

Salem…

Have it?"

"I thought you weren't interested in all of that."

"I just want to know what we are up against."

Qrow sneered before replying, "And which _"we"_ are you referring to?"

She releases his arm with a scowl of irritation and leans back in her chair.

"You should come back, Raven. The only way we beat her is by working together… All of us."

"You're the one who left. The tribe raised us… and you turned your back on them."

"They were killers and thieves."

"They were your family."

"You have a very skewed perception of that word."

Raven stands up in a rush, knocking her chair back slightly.

"I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival."

"I saw. The people of Shion saw too."

"The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules."

"Well, you've certainly got someone strong on your side. I've seen the damage." Qrow stated, mumbling the last part under his breath.

Raven turned to the side and crossed her arms before responding, "We couldn't have known that thing would set in as quickly as it did."

"Thing?"

"You don't know? Huh, I expected more from you Qrow, but then again, you have become soft over the years, so I shouldn't really be surprised."

Qrow growled in annoyance. "Grr… Just tell me."

"Well since you've seemed to grow incompetent with gathering useful information, I will inform you as a parting gift.

Despite being the first to attack, we did not, in fact, cause the most damage. That _"honor"_ would go to the nutcase clad in a ridiculous stone imitation of Knight Armor, seemingly playing the role of a silent-but-strong companion to an even crazier scorpion-tailed Faunus.

The two showed up out of nowhere, the Knight immediately engaging the men under my command while the Faunus stayed back, seemingly contemplating going after the villagers who made use of the distraction and fled the scene, before ultimately joining the fray.

I would like to say we held our own against them, but that would be a lie. It was an absolute slaughter. I escaped with my head on my shoulders, barely, and my weapon shattered.

Despite wanting vengeance for my loyal soldiers being butchered like cattle, I had no misconceptions that my staying there any longer would have resulted in my untimely demise."

"HAH!" Qrow laughed, "My sister, the Mighty Raven Branwen, defeated by a poser and a mental ward patient."

After Qrow's laughing fit finally ended, he became all business once more.

"Even so, I'm not talking about the knight," Raven glances back to Qrow while he continued, "and I'm not talking about you either."

Irritated Raven states through grinding teeth, "If you don't know where the Relic is, then we have _nothing_ left to talk about."

Raven reached for her mask to put it back on, but before it could leave the table, Qrow held the mask down, executing a similar action to what Raven did previously.

"I don't know where the Spring Maiden is either. But if you do, I need you to tell me."

"And why would I do that?" Raven asked while tearing her mask out of Qrow's grasp.

"Because without her, we're all going to die."

Raven feigned a chuckle. "And which _"we"_ are you referring to?"

She then opened up a portal and left through it. A loud crash resounded through the tavern as the barmaid, who arrived just in time to see Raven's unusual departure, dropped her platter and the glasses upon it in shock as the portal radiated an eerie aura that shot chills up her spine.

She glanced in Qrow's direction, desperate for some kind of an explanation, but received nothing of the sort as Qrow merely turns to her and nonchalantly asked her to, "Make this one a double," while holding out his now empty glass.

Before she has a chance to respond, Qrow receives a call on his personal scroll.

 **[END]**

* * *

 **A/N: Heyyy… I warned you all this would take a while. I don't have much to say really, other than chapter 3 will probably take even longer.**

 **Ciao!**

 **B/N: Hope you enjoyed!**


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